Client

In 1957, the Pilot School began as an educational experiment. A class of five young boys and two teachers met in two rooms at the Christ Church Sunday School in Greenville, Delaware. This “pilot” program was founded to provide custom designed, flexible curricula for children with language based learning problems. Pilot’s success is a testament to the nurturing environment and the dedication of faculty and staff to provide an individualized and therapeutic education.

Motivation

Just as students grow so too do the institutions that enable and shape their growth. The Pilot School, with an increasing enrollment and progressive methods for fostering their students, could recognize the need for a new home. Currently in their fourth location in a 60-year history, Pilot School desired new facilities that would integrate nature and exploration into the learning process.

Improvements and Solutions

Pilot School’s new campus would require a funding campaign to raise the $34 million necessary for the project. At this time, I approached Director Kathleen Craven, volunteering my time and services to give a little back to the school that had helped me, as I had done in the past with the summer school program, acting as a mentor to a student.

Familiar with my skill set, Kathleen asked for my assistance with the first stage of the funding campaign, a new website and updated marketing materials. The website was outsourced to a company offering a specialized content management system focused on school websites. So I took on advisor roll in the web project and focused my eye on the logo.

The updated logo would need to embody the refocused vision the school’s new facilities would manifest. In addition, the logo would need to fit a range of media specific variations, maintaining the brand across several mediums.

Achievements

Through several revisions, I was able to create a family of logo variations designed for specific medium outlets. The logo family incorporated a Fancy Crest and Circular Logo, supplemented with several accent shields. Originally used in print mailings and the relaunched website during the capital campaign, now the logos offer a personal reminder of my history with the school.

As a graduate of The Pilot School, I was proud to be able to give back to the institution that guided me through a defining period of my life. The fund raising campaign and the new facilities that were a result are a continuation of the school’s philosophical approach. Celebrating the individual in each student, Pilot continues to lead by example; guiding students as they become stewards of the environment and benefactors of our shared future.

The Pilot School now sits on a 50 acre property, bounded on two sides by the Brandywine Creek State Park, offering students an outdoor classroom. The “school playground” offers an additional 933 acres, encouraging students to incorporate nature into their daily lives.

Read more about The Pilot School and listen to Director Kathleen Craven speak with Delaware Online.